Nothing enrages astronomers more than when people mistake them for astrologists. The idea that your fate is sealed by how the stars were aligned on your birthday is most definitely not science. But a new study offers evidence that your future actually can be influenced by the time of year you were born.

Children born during the dry months of the year in Gambia bear modifications to their DNA that may have all sorts of implications for their lifelong health, scientists report April 29 in Nature...